The notoriously locked-down and crippled TI-Nspire has shown its "can-do" attitude and can now be counted as an equal in the TI calculator family thanks to the efforts of up-and-coming programmer Jacob Patrick. The best program in the history of all known space has been ported to the Nspire: Wacky Fun Random Numbar Generator v1.00000070.

When ticalc attempted to contact Mr. Patrick for further information regarding this feat that will be long-remembered, he only had the following to say: "I rule you." The connection was then abruptly terminated. Lord-god Nick Disabato, author of the original program, was not available for comment at press time. Although he is leading an expedition to South America in an effort to find the remains of ancient calculators buried in long-forgotten pyramids of power, Disabato's secretary promised that she would attempt to pass a message along to her employer. The outlook remains bleak, as Disabato's TI-85 telnet server was acting up as of late.

Update (Travis): For those of you who haven't been around long enough to get the joke, the Wacky Fun Random Numbar Generator is sort of a running gag that former news editor Nick Disabatostarted way back in summer 2000.

Find an Oasis in Doors CS 7.0Posted by Nikky on 27 August 2010, 06:04 GMT

Christopher "Kerm Martian" Mitchell has recently released Doors CS 7.0 for the TI-83+ and TI-84+ family of calculators. The latest version of his Doors CS shell represents the first serious competitor to the venerable MirageOS. Beginning its life as a "crude BASIC shell," Doors CS has grown to a full-featured ASM shell that supports MirageOS, ION, and Doors CS programs. Additionally, support for popular libraries such as XLib, Celtic III, and partial Omnicalc will assist developers and end-users alike. Mitchell has released a SDK to coincide with the release of Doors CS 7. A full feature list can be found on the DCS wiki.

TI-89T Grows an Aluminum ShellPosted by Nikky on 27 August 2010, 05:53 GMT

The ever popular Hack a Day writes of a TI-89T user who decided to mill an aluminum case for his calculator after breaking the battery compartment door. While details are somewhat sparse, the original article contains a few pictures of the case mod including a fewcomments from the case creator. A few of these cases sent to ticalc.org staff would be greatly appreciated.

Another Classic: Contra 83Posted by Travis on 24 August 2010, 03:45 GMT

It's not very often that pure-BASIC games are featured. Bryan Thomas'sContra 83 was one that got a lot of attention back around the time it was released. As a remake of the NES platformer Contra, it demonstrated that much more than people expect can be accomplished without the use of ASM libraries.

The game features six multi-screen levels, enemies, weapon upgrades, three difficulty levels, bosses, a high score system, and saving/loading. The speed is very impressive for TI-BASIC-only code, and each new screen loads and appears in mere seconds.

Check out our Basics section for an
intro to downloading programs and games and linking your calculator to your
computer. In addition our FAQ offers answers to many questions about ticalc.org and how we operate.

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